Method and apparatus for placing forms for green cement for piles



A. E. MOE

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PLACING FORMS FOR GREEN CEMENT FOR FILES FiledApril 4, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR,

rglezwzy May 30, 1933.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PLACING FORMS FOR GREEN CEMENT FOR FILES FiledApril 4, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 5M INVENTOIE,

W WOC? 6% TORNEY'.

A. E. MOE 1,912,089

May 30, 1933. MOE 1,912,039

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PLACING FORMS FOR GREEN CEMENT FOR FILES FiledApril 4, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORI 6 22? 72706,

6.0 By M I I A ORNEY'.

y 1933- A. E. MOE 1,912,089

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PLACING FORMS FOR GREEN CEMENT FOR FILES FiledApril 4, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR,

' 1 ATTORNEY.

Patented May 30, 1 933 1 g 1 Z ifATES FECE ANTON E. MOE, OF LOS ANGELES,CALIFORNIA METHOD AND APPARATUS FOP.- PLACING FORMS FOR GREEN CEMENT FORFILES Application filed April 4, 1932. Serial No. 602,984.

This invention relates to the placing of gressively lowered into thehole either by concrete piles, and more particularly perfree action ofgravitation or by accompanytains to a method and apparatus for placingpercussive effort of a hammer apparaing forms for reception of greencement tus as will be determined according to the which uponsolidification becomes a rigid nature of the ground into which the formmonolith of concrete. It is an object of the and boring apparatus islowered.

invention to provide a method and appara- A further object is to providea method tus for the erection, in place in the ground, and apparatus inwhich the sunken form is of a concrete pile. thoroughly reenforcedagainst collapsing 19 It is a broad object of the invention to pressureas is sometimes set up, either by the greatly simplify current practicesfollowed nature of the earth in which it is planted or to effect thesinking of a pre-cast concrete by reason of transmission of pressureinci- (or other) pile. dent to the driving of the boring apparatus Agenerally practiced system followed for into the ground in such closeproximity to 15 sinking a pro-cast concrete pile consists in thepreviously planted hollow form as to gradually lowering a water jetnozzle into cause the intervening earth formation to the ground, thewater being discharged crush inthe thin-walled form. under a highpressure and velocity from the A further object is to provide for thefoot end of an appropriate apparatus so as pouring of plastic cementinto the planted 20 to hydraulically bore a hole of sufiicient formwhile the form reenforcing, supporting depth and of a diameter to permitthe submeans is still in place so'that advantage of sequent driving of apre-cast concrete pile. the stabilizing presence of the poured plasticItwill be seen that such practice requires will be available before theform supportseveral time-consuming operations includ ing means isremoved. ing the siphoning of the water from the An additional object isto provide for the hole after it has been bored by the jet. eduction ofresidue water in the form sink- During such hydraulic boring operation,ing apparatus so as to obtain a substantialgravel and boulders which arecut loose 1y dry hole in the plant form before the naturally gravitatedown as the hole is bored plastic cement is poured. 30 if they are ofsuch size that the rip-flowing The invention consists in certainadvancestream of spent water is unable to carry ments in this art as setforth in the ensuing them to the top of the hole. disclosure and having,with the above, nu-

The accumulation of the gravel and boulmerous additional objects andadvantages ders in the bottom of the hole presents an as hereinafterdisclosed, and whose construe effective barrier when the pre-cast pileis tion, combination and details of means, and lowered into the hole anddriven toward dethe manner of operation will be made manisired grade asby a pile driver. fest in the description of the herewith illus- It is,therefore, an object to provice means trative embodiment; it beingunderstood and to provide a method whereby the hole that modifications,variations and adaptais prepared down to desired grade and the tions maybe resorted to within the scope, encountered over-size gravel andboulders principle and spirit of the invention as it are caused to bethrust aside from the foot is more directly claimed hereinafter. of theadvancing jet apparatus instead of Figure 1 is a side elevation andpartial being permitted to accumulate naturally at section of a fragmentof the pile form in the bottom of the hole as this is flushed out.assembled position of sections.

An object is to provide a method in which Figure 2 is a side elevationof the pile there is employed a thin sheet metal form form as inposition upon a driving unit; applicable, in sections, to a drivingapparathe figure indicating a break in the length tus whereby ahydraulic is produced at of the device. 7 50 the foot of the form andthewhole is pro- Figure 3 is a side elevation of the driv- 199 ing unitfree of the form and showing its expansible jacket in expanded,form-receiving position.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the jacket expanding core; the figureindicating a break in length.

Figure 5 is a detail, sectional view showing the driving unit jacket asin expanded relation by the core.

Figure 6 is a cross section of the core and the central jet pipe line.

Figure 7 is a cross section of the expansible jacket, with parts inexpanded position.

Figure 8 is a detail, longitudinal section of the upper portion of thedriving unit, with parts in expanded position.

Figure 9 is a longitudinal section of the lower portion of the drivingunit with the parts collapsed within a planted form.

Figure 10 is a cross section through the upper part of the driving unitand showing placed lock bars fastening the parts in the poistion shownin Fig. 8, the plane of the section being on line 1010, Fig. 8.

Figure 11 is a plan of the detached cable collar of the driving unit.

Figure 12 is a perspective of a fragment of an element of the expansiblejacket of the driving unit showing a preferred form of structure.

Figure 13 is a longitudinal section of the upper end of a planted formand showing a reenforcing or collapsible support therefor in collapsedrelation, and

Figure let is a longitudinal section of the lower portion of the plantedform showing its reenforcing support in effective position.

Figure 15 is a cross section of the form support, some parts beingomitted.

Figure 16 is a detail of a fragment of a form support buttress.

Figure 17 is a side elevation and partial section of a composite, woodand cement pile, showing the form support in expanded position in theconcrete form part of the pile.

Figure 18 is a diagrammatic, sectional view showing steps in the methodand operationof the apparatus.

Fig. 19 is a detail view of a clamp post of the lead.

In the present method and apparatus, there is employed a metallic coreor form consisting, preferably, of a plurality of sheet metal sectionsincluding a closed bottom foot section 2 having a water jet hole 3. Thissection diverges in size toward its upper end to telescopically nesttight on an intermedi ate section d, and this likewise telescopes on thelower, smaller end of an adjacent section 5, and so on to the topmostsection 6, Fig. 2. These sections are preferably made of rather thinsheet metal and are of a length so that they may be easily handled byone laborer and can be slipped successively, top section 6 first, and soon, onto a driving unit which includes an expansible j acket whose crosssection conforms to the cross section of the above-mentioned concreteform, hereinafter referred to as form F.

The present form F and jacket are of square, cross section and taperfrom top to bottom at any desired degree and length as determined by theultimate concrete pile which is cast in the planted form F.

The jacket, as shown, includes a quadrangular system of angle iron limbs7, 8, 9 and 10, which are expansible to solidly thrust outward againstthe applied form F. The jacket limbs are of suitable length and areadapted to be contracted so as to freely draw from the planted form F.

As shown in Fig. 7, the lower ends of the jacket limbs 8 and 10 haverigidly secured foot bars 11 and 12, and these are outwardly overlappedby flanges of the limbs 7 and 9; these being provided with slots 13 inwhich play retaining heads 14 of rivets or bolts fixed in the contiguousends of the connecting bars 11 so that the several limbs 7, 8, 9 and 10may move out or in as desired. The contiguous edges of the severaladjustable limbs are overlapped by shields or guards 15, clearly shownin Fig. 12, and in which the inside faces of the angle limbs (as 7) areprovided with reenforcing strips 16 whose upper ends are inwardly anddownwardly beveled at 17 for a purpose about to be described.

Thus the lower ends of the expansible jacket, hereinafter referred to asjacket J,

are interconnected for limited expanding action. The upper ends of thelimbs of the jacket J are provided with a desired telescopic strokeinside'of a hood 18 forming a part of a driving head 19 about which isremcvably secured a two-part collar 20 for bights 21 of a cable loopwhich is hitched to suitable hoisting tackle in the operation of theapparatus. The driving head 19 is closed by a removable driving plate 22having a top rim 28 seating on the crown of the driving head 19 andbeing countersunk to receive the conventional driving block 24 of acommon pile driver.

A feature of the present invention includes a throw-out devicecomprising a lever 25 pivoted at 26 on the rim 23 of the driving plate22 and adapted to be rocked so as to hook under the driving block 24:and throw this out of the driving plate 22, thereby eliminating muchlabor in the conventional method of removing the driving block.

Rigidly secured in the hood 18 of the driving head 19 is a corestructure incorporating means for effecting the expansion of the jacketJ and permitting the collapse of the jacket. This core structure, incross section, corresponds to the cross section of the jacket interiorand, as shown in Fig. 6, is in the luu form of a rigid rectangular box27 along the external face of which are provided numerous spacedexpanding wedges 28 complementary to opposed, inclined cam faces 17 3fthe several limbs constituting the jacket v In preparing the drivingunit for operation, the jacket limbs 7, 8, 9 and 10 are shifted intoplace upwardly so that their top ends butt the top wall of the hood 18,and in such position, the expanding wedges 28 and cams 17 cause theoutward or expanding action of the elements and sustain them in expandedposition and complementary to the size and form of the interior of themetallic form F whose parts are positioned firmly into place on thedownwardly convergent, expanded jacket J. j

For the purpose of retaining the expanded jacket in effective positionduring the lowering and driving of the form F, a lower lock bar 29 ispassed through respective holes 30 in diagonally opposite corner limbs 7and 9 of the jacket, and the contiguous corners of the inside core orbox 27 have slots 31 of a length permitting the upward movement of thecore, as to the jacket J, so as to permit the collapse of the limbs ofthe jacket when desired.

A diagonally extending lock bar 32 like-' wise secures jacket limbs 8and 10 for concurrent movement with the limbs 7 and 9, as to the core 27whose relative corners are provided with slots 33 for upward movement ofthe core as to the lock bar 32.

Then the jacket J has been expanded, it is then locked by means ofhooklinks 34 adapted to drop over the beveled ends 34 of the lower lockbar 29, and thus connect the latter to the head 19 from which the locklinks 34 are suspended by pivots 35. It will be seen, therefore, thatthe driving unit including the core 27 and the jacket J can be hoistedclear of the ground to permit application of the form preparatory tolowering and driving the form.

In order to eliminate undue wear of parts due to violent vibration, thelock bars 29 and 32 are constantly under firm seating pressure of astrong spring 36surrounding a post 37 fixed to the driving plate 22 andhaving a yoke end 38 straddling the bar 32 on which rests a washer 39engaged and pressed down by the spring 36. This allows the readyapplication of the driving head parts to the assembly after the lockbars 29, 32 are in place.

In order to instantly free the driving core 27 from the expanded jacketfrom the planted form IF, it is only necessary to trip the connectinglinks 34 from the lower lock bar 29 and thereafter, the core is hoisted,and on its initial movement, the expanding cams 17 and 28 by relativemovement allow the jacket limbs to collapse which they will do instantlyunder the pressure to which-the planted form F is subjected.

After a form has been assembled on the expanded jacket J and this islowered to bring the foot of the form into position over the engineersmark or peg at the site where the pile is to be driven, water underhigh.

pressure is turned into a hose 40 which is connected to a fixed nipple41 directed outwardly from the core 27 and connected to a central waterpipe line 42 which extends to the bottom of the core or box 27 and isfixed in a foot. block 27' therein.

Working in the lower end of the water pipe 41 is a head collar 43 of ajet pipe 44 working in a guide bushing 45 and formed on or secured to adrive block 46 which is shaped to conform to the lower end of the jacketsection-2. In this drive block is an upwardly closing check valve 47 toprevent the passage of soil or other object upwardly in the jet opening48 of the block 46; the jet valve 47 opening downward readily as astream of water under high pressure is forced down the water pipe 42.

Thus, by the present method, as the drive unit'with an applied form F isbrought to position over the engineers mark, the hydraulic jet of waterat once begins to bore downward, and as the hole is cut the unit islowered; the upward flowing stream of water cutting its own channelabout the sides of the downwardly pressing form on the lowering anddriving unit. At such levels as may be desired, a pile driving hammer Hmay be employed to' jolt downthe unit in aiding hydraulic boring action.

When the pile form has been driven to grade, the lock bar links 34aretripped from the bars and the jacket automatically collapses inreadiness for pulling of the unit from the planted form F.

It is desirable to provide a dry hole or chamber in the planted form F,and for this purpose, steam from a steam hose 49 is turned into a steampipe 50 which is fixed to the side of the water pipe 42 and which latteris provided with an upwardly and inwardly directed steam hole 51'at theend of the steam pipe 50 so that steam directed into the hole closeupwardly and initiates a's'i phonic flow of the water from the form F.

A check valve 50 prevents flow of water to the steam pipe 50 when thisis out of use.

When the water is to be siphoned out, it flows from the hose 40 whose,distal end 40 is provided with any suitable form of quick couplingdevice; this coupling device being broken from a water supply line froma pump or other source of high pressure as soon as service of the waterto the pipe line 42 is to be dispensed with, then the discharge end 40of the hose 40 allows the free dissteam action from the form.

It is understood that the steam hose 49 will be connected to the drivingunit, only for the short period during which the water is to be expelledfrom the planted form F.

A review of the operation is as follows: When the core is picked up bythe hoist of the pile driver (not shown) the casing or form sections areslipped onto the expanded core jacket. Then the unit is lowered to theground at the engineers mark and water is turned in through. thehigh-pressure, con nected-up hose line with the, result that thehigh-pressure jet discharged from the jet hole 3 in the bottom of theform will act to cut a hole ahead of the unit, and if this is not fastenough, the unit can be driven by action of the pile driver hammer. Whenthe unit is down to about one foot from the bottom or grade, then thejet of water is shut ofi' and the check valve in the driving block 46will automatically close the jet line to prevent its being clogged byentering matter.

As soon as the jet is turned off, the core unit, with applied parts, isdriven down to final grade, and then steam is turned into the steam lineto discharge the water through the water line to make a dry hole. Thenthe form jacket J is collapsed and pulled with the core from the form.

Preferably, anengineers pressure gage 52 in the water line hose 40 isprovided to show water pressure so that hammer action can be reduced to"permit jet of water to out ahead of the driving unit when this isnecessary. By using the hammer to drive the unit at the same time thejet is running, oversize gravel and boulders are hammered aside from thepath of the driving end of the form F.

After the planted form F has been exhausted of water, there isthenlowered into it a buttressing expander which includes a vent pipe stem55 open at the bottom and having spaced jar collars 5657 on its upperend and between which operates a hammer 58 to jar the stem up or down asneeded. The foot end of the stem is crossed by bars 59 working in slots60 and on whose ends are pivoted pairs of buttress strips 6162 whichhave central, inwardly directed webs 63. To these webs are securedupwardly and outwardly inclined flanges 64 which are enveloped by boxes65 rigidly secured to the stem 55 at suitable distance according to thespacing of the cam flanges 64 of the buttress strips.

Piles are commonly driven'in rows and it is desired to prevent crushingof the thin walls of the planted forms F when these forms are so closethat lateral pressure from the form being driven will be transmittedthrough the earth formation to the adjacent side of the previouslyplanted form; To.

that end, the buttress strips 61 are nearly as wide as the form wall,whilethe strips 62 are somewhat narrower. When the forms are driven, thewide sides of the expanding buttresses are arranged to stand in planetransverse to the line of the pile row.

In operation, the contracted buttress tool B is lowered into the form Funtil the pivoted ends of the strips engage in the small end of theform, then the strips are expanded by relative downward stroke of thestem with the cam boxes 65 so as to jam the strips against the formwalls.

The next form and driver unit is then driven without fear of crushingthe nearby form stayed by the buttress tool.

- Plastic cement is poured into a form while the buttress tool is stillin place so that no time is lost since the next pile form is driven atthe same time. lVhen driving is finished, the buttress tool is pulledand moved over to the just driven form and set in it as soon as it iscleared of the driving unit J; the operation being repeated step by stepalong the row of pile forms, as planted.

In Fig. 17, a composite pile is shown as including a timber foot 'with areduced neck 71 boundby'a bank 72, and having stay rods 73 on which isslidable a foot block 74 of an expanding jacket core unit 27 In thispile, the formwalls 2 are turned in at 2' to seat on a hemp rope packingring 7 5 to prevent mud from entering around the foot of the form.

The rods 73 form a reinforce connecting the cast cement pile body to thetimber. The cement body surrounds the reduced neck of the timber and atight joint is made by the flattened hemp packer 75.

It will be apparent that by the present method and apparatus, the pilescan be driven with their heads so close together as to form a continuouswall or foundation.

What is claimed is:

1. The pile planting method wherein: a.

hollow metal form is assembled on a driver and lowered into the ground,a jet of water is discharged from the foot of the assembly to cut a borefor the form as it is lowered, the driver is pulled from the plantedform, a buttress is lowered to the form to sustain it from externalpressure, a plastic cement is poured into the buttress while it is inplace and the buttressis pulled before the cement sets.

2. The pile planting method consisting of cutting a hole by a jet ofwater and sinking a pile form in the hole by gravity and percussiveblows to thrust aside obstacles not carried away by jet water,exhausting the residue water from the form, internally buttressing theform and running the cement into the form while the buttress is inplace, andsinking another form adjacent to the first form while this isbuttressed.

3. The pile planting method consisting of cutting a hole by a jet ofWater and sinking a pile form in the hole by gravity and percussiveblows to thrust aside obstacles not carried away by jet water,exhausting the residue water frogn the form, internally buttressing theform with a skeleton frame and running in cement while it is in place,and sinking another form adjacent to the first form while this isbuttressed.

4. The pile planting method wherein: A hollow metal form is assembled ona driver and lowered into the ground, a jet of water is discharged fromthe foot of the assembly to cut a bore for the form as it is lowered,the driver is pulled from the planted form, a buttress is lowered to theform to sustain it from external pressure, a plastic cement is pouredinto the form while it is buttressed, the buttress being pulled outbefore the cement sets, and a pile form is sunk adj acent to the firstform while it is buttressed.

5. Apparatus for constructing piles in place in earth formation,comprising a hollow form, means for internally bracing the form and forlowering it to grade, and means to hydraulically bore a hole as the formis lowered and ejecting means for discharging a gaseous fluid into saidmeans to exhaust water from the form.

6. Apparatus for constructing piles in place in earth formation,comprising a hollow form, means for internally bracing the form and forlowering it to grade, means to hydraulically bore a hole as the form islowered, and means for discharging a gaseous jet into the last namedmeans to exhaust water from the planted form.

7. Apparatus for constructing piles in place in earth formation,comprising a hollow form, means for internally bracing the form and forlowering it to grade, means to hydraulically bore a hole as the form islowered, ejector means to exhaust water from the planted form, saidlowering means being extractable; and skeleton means for buttressing theplanted form while it is being filled with cement and while another formis being driven nearby and which is adapted to be pulled before thecement fill sets.

8. Apparatus for constructing cement piles in place in earth formation,comprising a hollow form, and a lowering means removably fitting theform and bracing it internally, said means including a hydraulic i jetdevice for discharging a water jet ahead of the foot of the form andprovided near its foot with a gaseous ejector device for ex haustingwater.

9. Apparatus for constructing cement piles in place in earth formation,comprising a hollow form, and lowering means removably fitting the formand bracing it internally, said means including an expansible jacket andan expanding core therefor and hydraulic jet device for discharging awater jet ahead of the foot of the form, and a hammer driven headstructure on said jacket and core; said device including a hoseconnection on said core and passing through the shell.

10. Apparatus for constructing cement piles in place in earth formation,compris ing a hollow form, lowering means removably fitting the form andbracing it internally, said means including a hydraulic jet device fordischarging a water jet ahead of the foot of the form, and an ejectordischarging into said means for'exhausting water from the driven form. i

11. Apparatus for constructing cement piles in place in earth formationcomprising a lowering and driving device adapted for the externalapplication of a complementary hollow pile form and including aremovable hood, a hollow core box fixed to the hoodto be raised andlowered therewith, an external, collapsible and expansible jacketstructure whose upper portion is slidable in said hood, and means forexpanding the acket structure, as to the core, to facilitate extractionof the device from a form whichis sunk thereby said box provided with aslidable foot ram having a check' valve against back flow.

12. Apparatus for constructing cement piles in place in earth formation,comprising a lowering and driving device adapted for the externalapplication of a complementary hollow pile form and including a hood, ahollow core box fixed to the hood to be raised and lowered therewith, anexternal, collapsible and expansible jacket structure whose upperportion is slidable in said hood, means for expanding the jacketstructure, as to the core, to facilitate extraction of the device from aform which is sunk thereby; and asystem of removable lift and lock barsconnecting said box and its jacket.

13. Apparatus for constructing cement piles in place in earth formation,comprising a lowering and driving device adapted for the externalapplication of a complementary hollow pile form and including a hood, ahollow core box fixed to the hood to be raised and lowered therewith, anexternal, collapsible and expansible jacket structure whose upperportion is slidable in said hood, and means for expanding the jacketstructure, as to the core, to facilitate extraction of the device from aform which is sunk thereby; said hood having a system of hitch links anda removable lift bar connecting said jacket to said links, and a box barengaged by the lift bar and locking the parts in position.

14. Apparatus for constructing cement piles in place in earth formation,comprising a lowering and driving device adapted for the externalapplication of a complelie mentary hollow pile form and including ahood, a hollow core box fixed to the hood to be raised and loweredtherewith, an external, collapsible and expansible jacket structurewhose upper portion is slidable in said hood, means for expanding thejacketstructure, as to the core, to facilitate extraction of the devicefrom a form which is sunk thereby, and lock means for detachablyconnecting said jacket structure to said hood to permit relativemovement of the core and collapse of said jacket said hood having a setof hitch links connectible to said lock means to suspend the box andjacket.

15. In apparatus for placing piles, a driving core, a driving platecombined with said core, an unattached driving block removably mountedupon said plate, and pry means operatively mounted on the plate andoperative to remove the applied driving block.

16.,In apparatus for making cement piles in earth formation, a skeletonform 0 buttress insertible into a planted form and expansible therein;said buttress providing for ready introduction of cement while in placein the form, means for collapsing the buttress and pulling it from theform before the cement has set.

ANTON E. MOE.

